Jeff wrote:I found that being able to hit a temperature of my choice within a degree or two allowed me to get more out of many lighter roasts, as well a some darker ones.

I only make medium roast classic espressos. Our house blend for about 2 years now is Paradise Nuevo, an outstanding example of a wonderful, boring old style I've been enjoying for decades. My wife even loves it ground for her drip machine. We're too set in our ways at this point to change, given that neither of us likes fruit or flowers in our coffee